Bridgeport parties to tap fall candidates

By Bill Cummings, STAFF WRITER

Published 1:36 pm, Monday, August 31, 2009

BRIDGEPORT -- Democrats and Republicans on Wednesday will nominate candidates for City Council and Board of Education seats for the fall campaign, an election cycle expected to be relatively quiet since there will be no mayoral candidates at the top of the ballot.

Only the city's majority Democrats, who outnumber Republicans 6-1, appear to have the makings of a fight on their hands as five candidates vie for three Board of Education seats. The nominations in at least one council district appear to be in flux, and a primary will likely be needed.

Republicans, who currently hold no seats on the 20-member council, are expected to nominate candidates for most of the seats and the three BOE seats to be contested in the fall. No primaries for GOP seats are anticipated.

Bridgeport mayors now serve four-year terms, and Bill Finch, the Democratic incumbent, is at the mid-point of his first term this year.

"It's kind of boring," said Dan Roach, a longtime DTC district leader, referring to this year's political races.

Still, Democrats are facing a challenge with its school board nominations, pitting veteran incumbent Bobby Simmons and four others in a contest for three nominations. Simmons is expected to secure a party nomination, leaving four others to vie for the two remaining slots.

Roach said Crossin appears to have a leg up on the party endorsement, but added it's unclear who might prevail among Lopez, Colon and Rodgerson.

On the council side, Andrew Fardy, a former parks commissioner, is challenging City Council member Robert Curwen and Richard Paoletto for one of the seats in the 138th District. Fardy is not expected to receive the party endorsement, and may wage a primary for one of the district's two seats on the legislative body.

The town committee is not expected to endorse incumbent council members Daniel Matinez and Marie Valle in the 137th District. Lydia Martinez, a former state legislator, is emerging as a possible candidate in that district, while Valle appears ready to orchestrate a primary challenge to retain her seat.

Paul Boucher, who works in the city's zoning office and serves on the DTC, is considered a possible replacement for Colon, should she secure a school board nomination.

Marc Delmonico, the RTC chairman, said he hopes to field candidates in most of the upcoming races.

"We sent out fliers to every Republican who voted in the last election. Hopefully, that will get them off their couches. We are going to make a strong push to have candidates for every race," he said.